Arguably, the club once again dug a little too deep into its pocket to sign the small-sized forward, who is packed with potential, but also continues to with scoring inconsistency. The overpayment, however, is modest ($250K – $500K), and given the youthful skill and speed that now abounds in this lineup, expectations for Gagner should also climb.

Tambellini still has some important off-season work left to accomplish, including trading or signing centre Andrew Cogliano and finding a suitor for disgruntled veteran defenceman, Sheldon Souray.